Dental care products and dental cleaning products are available on the market in various forms and are used primarily to clean the surface of the teeth and prevent tooth and periodontal diseases. They usually include a combination of polishing agents, humectants, surfactants, binding agents, flavoring agents, and fluoride-containing and antimicrobial active substances. In addition to tooth powders, which, due to the increased abrasiveness thereof, play a lesser role, dental cleaning products are offered above all in paste, cream and translucent or transparent gel forms. In recent years, liquid toothpastes and mouthwashes have also increasingly gained in importance.
Many consumers perceive dark or stained teeth to be cosmetically unacceptable. Despite regular dental hygiene, attempts to preserve the natural tooth color are not always successful. Dietary habits or smoking can result in discoloration of the teeth. Likewise, the colonization of the tooth surface by bacteria (plaque) leads to discoloration.
A number of technical solutions for stain removal or whitening of teeth were therefore developed in the prior art. Peroxide is used primarily for whitening/bleaching. Peroxide is used in high concentrations in professional bleaching products, whereas the use in cosmetic products for oral and dental care is limited to 0.1% peroxide. At this concentration, however, peroxide has only limited whitening action and often does not eliminate tooth discoloration to the desired extent.
Another option for whitening teeth is the effective removal of plaque, which makes teeth appear darker. This method of tooth whitening is also described as “natural whitening.” A high cleaning performance is achieved by the use of abrasives, such as silica, alumina, or calcium carbonate, in combination with a surfactant. Unfortunately, toothpastes comprising an effective system of one or more these cleaning and polishing agents often also have a high abrasiveness, and therefore often lead to abrasion of the tooth surface. This can be disadvantageous in particular when the tooth enamel is already thin, as is the case in people with sensitive teeth. Exposed tooth necks also occur often in individuals with sensitive teeth, which is to say the portions of the tooth in the immediate vicinity of the gingiva where no enamel is present as a protective layer and the dentin underneath is exposed. The above-described individuals are thus not able to use such dental cleaning agents, or use these only to a very limited extent.
Moreover, immediately after cleaning the teeth, a protein layer (pellicle) forms on the tooth material, on which plaque builds up or discolorations accumulate.
A need therefore exists for oral and dental care and cleaning agents that result in effective cleaning and whitening of the teeth, while also preventing the formation of new discolorations for as long as possible. At the same time, an antibacterial action that lasts as long as possible was to be achieved.
The object of the present invention was therefore to provide oral and dental care and cleaning agents that prevent or reduce new discolorations of the teeth for as long as possible after the teeth have been cleaned. Furthermore, these agents are to have a high cleaning performance and result in an effective reduction of plaque. In addition, these agents are to have a long shelf life.
Surprisingly, it was found that the use of an aqueous dispersion of phosphate-containing and/or phosphonate-containing polyurethanes, in combination with anionic surfactant(s), results in reduced restaining of the teeth from foods (such as tea) and bacterial impurities. Moreover, the use of the above-mentioned combination does not adversely affect the cleaning action and the reduction of plaque.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with this background of the invention.